Louisville-based Dataseam, an education and workforce development organization, recently announced $150,000 in incentive-based opportunities available to Dataseam-participating schools to drive increased student recruiting at the University of Louisville.
The incentives available are designed to offset district costs associated with participating in the no-cost University campus tours. Substitute teachers, buses, drivers and student meals can make field trips prohibitive for many rural Kentucky K-12 districts. Dataseam estimates this effort will allow as many as 1,000 students to visit over the next academic year.
Dataseam designed, built and operates the DataseamGrid, a statewide network of classroom workstations in Kentucky K-12 public schools which provides the University of Louisville’s Brown Cancer Center valuable computational horsepower to accelerate its structure-based drug discovery program. These workstations, earned by participating schools improving the technology skills of both their technology and instructional teams and participation in recruitment opportunities, bring advanced curriculum opportunities to grow Kentucky’s knowledge-based workforce. Computers earned by schools through this recruitment effort will add to the research infrastructure.
The Dataseam organization began in 2003 in the University of Louisville’s next-generation business incubator program. As part of the long-standing partnership, Dataseam uses program efforts to motivate students and statewide recruitment. The University established and funds separately the Dataseam Scholars program, providing 4-year awards to students from Dataseam-participating schools pursuing degrees in both STEM and STEM-education fields.
Dataseam education and workforce programs are supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Kentucky General Assembly. Currently, 59 of 171 Kentucky K-12 districts representing nearly 40% of the public student population are members of the Dataseam program. Of the University of Louisville’s 24,123 total enrollment, 26.5% originate from Kentucky counties outside Jefferson County, where the university is located.
“Many of us choose the University of Louisville to attend and then Louisville chooses us to be our home”, states Brian Gupton, Dataseam Founder/CEO. “While we never completely give up our ‘home county citizenship’, we find friends and community while becoming part of Louisville’s necessary workforce. Those who graduate and return home become important ambassadors of the University’s offerings and message as an institution serving communities statewide.”
With 12 colleges and schools, over 200 undergraduate programs, 400 student organizations and many graduates finishing debt-free or with student loan debt among the lowest in the state and below the national average, the University of Louisville is a competitive option for Kentucky students.
“The University of Louisville has been aggressive in developing opportunities to serve all Kentucky students with an interest in attending. Order Your Educational Steps (OYES) Group Visits are geared toward first-generation and under-resourced high school students. These include campus tours, lunch provided by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, admissions presentation and student panel. We also offer district-specific campus tours and admissions presentations available daily,” related Jenny Sawyer, University of Louisville Director of Admissions.
Download the press release HERE.
